The GiveHope Guide to Donor Engagement and Retention

It takes a lot of effort to bring in new donors, whether its by hosting a Facebook event or posting flyers with your GiveHope campaign link, you’ve been focusing on getting as much publicity around your campaign as possible. But what happens next? GiveHope has the scoop on keeping your donor engagement and retention. This guide will teach you how to keep your donors invested in your cause and help you spread the word.

In a study conducted by the AFP Fundraising Effectiveness Project, it was discovered the average donor retention rate for personal fundraisers was 45%. Meaning that less than half of donors will tell someone about your cause. Aside from losing valuable resources and supporters, this means more time, effort and resources will need to go towards acquiring new donors.

Bottom line:It’s more challenging to acquire a new donor than it is to retain an existing one. Instead of putting energy time into replacing donors that you may lose, invest the time and energy into building up your donor engagement efforts to increase donor retention.

Here are 5 tips that you can put into action today to improve donor retention:

Genuinely Engage with Donors

GiveHope encourages getting to know your donors and creating meaningful relationships. After all, they believed enough in your cause to donate which already creates common ground for a relationship to flourish. Your focus is higher donor retention, so put effort into existing donors and make them remember your story so they share it with their networks!

Say “Thank You”

You can never thank a donor enough. Make sure to say it as soon as possible, often and personally. After receiving a donation, it’s important to say thank you promptly, while the donor is still thinking about the gift they’ve made. Don’t be shy to say thank you more than once and in different ways. Let them know their generous gift will help you in the short and long term. Include personal touches whenever possible to express genuine appreciation.

Make Your Donors Feel Part of Your Fundraising Community

Whenever possible, post updates to your GiveHope campaign page to keep your donor community updated as a whole, aside from the personal communication you maintain with them. This will remind them, again, about your cause and that you are still working hard to reach your goal. Donors will feel a sense of trust when they see you taking your campaign seriously.

Start a Conversation with Donors

As part of your donor retention efforts, talk to your donors and listen to what they have to say. You will be able to get a sense of where they stand by creating a conversation with them. Create opportunities to communicate with your donors, ask for feedback, conduct surveys and use social medial to hear what your donors think.

Create Opportunities to Engage

There are meaningful ways for donors to engage in your cause, aside from making a financial gift. Invite donors to attend events, share volunteer opportunities or invite them to see what you’ve accomplished with the help of their donation.